Zogt_Besser
A Morah is no different than any other employee that took a job and left in the middle. His hand is on the bottom. Any additional EXPENSE can be deducted from the worker’s pay. If the employer hired a sub at the same pay rate then there is no monetary claim just a claim that she didn’t honor her word.
I don’t think that you can consider a Morah as an independent contractor (Kablan) the relationship is employee by all standards.
Please note she is not a slave as that was abolished back in the mid 1800s, at least in the US. In the Roman Catholic Church they used to have nuns who swore an oath of poverty and taught in their schools is this what you want?
On the other hand, WOULD YOU ALSO REQUIRE THE PRINCIPAL TO TAKE OUT A LOAN IN ORDER TO PAY THE TEACHING STAFF when there isn’t enough in the yeshiva’s bank account? After all he/she signed the contract too. This is not as rare as you may think, is there a thread about this?
As far as a contractor leaving in the middle of a job it happens all the time. Hopefully you didn’t pay him for the whole job and held back some money. Otherwise you are going to be chasing him forever. Good luck trying to collect even if you win a judgement.